Hiding as a professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 2 Thy Arsenic, My Honey

Tver's heart finally dropped.

　　Yes, he was planning to go back to England to work as an assistant teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, the only and best magic school in England.

　　That being said, this was not an easy, comfortable job, and could even be considered the second most dangerous profession.

　　Second only to the traveler's parents.

　　If memory serves, of the seven professors of Defense Against the Dark Arts in the seven years of the plot, one stayed at St. Mungo's forever, two went to jail, and five passed away.

　　Yes, five of them.

　　The extra one, Moody, simply because he was disguised by someone else with a compounded tonic, ended up going to see Merlin as well.

　　Accidents were so frequent that it was hard not to question the danger of the class.

　　But for Tweedledee, it was more than enough debt to add just a little more spice to his demise.

　　At the age of eleven, he came across a ring by mistake.

　　Unluckily, that ring had strong black magic on it that could have destroyed his young life in an instant.

　　Luckily for him, he crossed over at that point and had his own gold finger.

　　It was a badge.

　　The badge was a peripheral he had purchased in a previous life, and it bore the very emblem of Hogwarts, the most famous wizarding school in England.

　　A large H was in the center, encircling four animals: a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger, with a tag line underneath.

　　"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus." [Don't mess with the sleeping Draco (Mistake).]

　　Translated, Sleeping Dragon Do Not Disturb.

　　He didn't know why this badge had traveled with him, but as his life force drained away, the badge suddenly surged with a power that resisted the erosion of black magic.

　　Only the power wasn't strong enough to barely keep him from dying, the black magic still haunted his body, sucking the life out of himself like an attached bone.

　　At the sight of the ring, though, he knew what it was.

　　One of Voldemort's Horcruxes!

　　Having watched the movie, he knew that even Dumbledore and Snape, two wizards who could be considered the top wizards in the magical world, could not break the black magic on it.

　　Dumbledore, who was known as the First White Wizard, eventually chose to die precisely because the black magic on it was difficult to get rid of.

　　He made a split-second decision, ditching the acceptance letter he received from Hogwarts and begging his parents to send him to Durmstrang to study at a school known for its black magic.

　　Luckily for him, his family was still prominent enough to enroll in Durmstrang with ease.

　　During these seven years, he had constantly relied on his research of black magic and the protection of the power of the badge, and managed to delay the date of his death.

　　The biggest secret of the badge was also discovered.

　　As long as one's understanding of magic became stronger, one could enhance the power of the badge, thus compensating for the damage to one's life brought about by black magic.

　　It was like a swimming pool, with water coming in and going out at the same time, except the water in it was his own life.

　　But by last year, his strength reached a bottleneck, no longer growing as rapidly as before, and the power of the badge gradually faded as a result, and after half a year, the power disappeared completely.

　　Black magic instantly extended its tentacles into his life, and the pool became only out.

　　Faced with a life that was fading like running water, Tevye barely managed to coalesce this black magic into a tiny bit for the time being with his seven years of black magic knowledge and a little bit of help.

　　Thinking of this, he raised his hand and looked at his right wrist, which had a small black dot right on it, and from the ends of the black dot stretched out an ever-extending thin line.

　　When the thin lines overlapped, that was when his life ended.

　　According to this progress, he still had two years to go.

　　This was why he had desperately applied to teach at Hogwarts, because by the end of the year, a magical stone would be stored in this school.

　　The stone that made people live forever.

　　As for why it was Black Magic Defense, that was solely because it was the only class that recruited teachers from the public every year.

　　Even so, the status of a Tverdemstrang student still gave that one pause.

　　If he hadn't changed his mind and only become an assistant teacher, he would probably have wasted three more years.

　　So the position of Assistant Teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts was thy arsenic and my honey to Tweedledum.

　　Looking back on his past seven years, it was as if he was in a race against death, each day desperately soaking up all kinds of magical knowledge, and each night his mind formulating a more efficient method of learning.

　　It also gave him an unspeakable name in Durmstrang.

　　Panda War God ... After leaving here, there should be no one to call himself this shameful name, right?

　　Tver joyfully took out a brand new piece of parchment and left a reply on it, and in a moment the letter was folded up without any unnecessary creases.

　　Mr. Owl didn't like the neatness though, and twisted it twice as it was tied to his leg, and pecked his hand as if complaining, before waving his wings and flying off to the snowy mountains in the distance.

　　I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you next time I have the chance.

　　Undeterred by his good mood, Tver waved his wand briskly, and the two neatly packed suitcases on the floor became lighter, then floated like feathers towards the open wallet in his hand.

　　Upon touching the wallet, the suitcase instantly looked like it had been compressed and flew in dry.

　　The wallet had been surreptitiously cast with a no-trace stretching spell, and there was more room inside than this bedchamber.

　　No matter what country's wizarding laws were in place, it was illegal for this spell to be used on personal items.

　　Still, is it still a wizard if you don't break a few laws?

　　Tweedledee looked back at the room once more with fondness, and after shutting his seven years in it, left the place with ease.

　　"That's graduation is it?" The aged old man in the portrait at the stairway entrance suddenly said.

　　This was the second principal of Durmstrang, and the one who had introduced dueling and war magic into the curriculum, the gladiatorial arena in front of the castle being his masterpiece, even if it was in a picture frame sitting on the stone steps.

　　"Yes, Mr. Monte, thank you so much for your help these past seven years."

　　Tver stopped in his tracks, this Mr. Monte, though he sometimes snitched on the principal, also helped him on every night out.

　　"It was Durmstrang's greatest loss that Karkaroff, the fool, didn't keep you!"

　　Even if it was a portrait, even if it was an aged look, it was hard to hide the old man's fiery temper.

　　"It's me, I need to study my magical skills a bit more, and explore more knowledge of more different kinds of magic in order to reach a higher level."

　　It was the only way to keep himself alive, Tweedledum's subtext left unsaid.

　　"I heard you went to that school as a teacher?" The old man's emotions came and went quickly.

　　"Yes, but only as an assistant teacher."

　　"Well, all I can wish you is not to get too tired, sometimes stopping allows you to see more clearly." Monte winked meaningfully at Tver.

　　Monte had said this to Tver every time since last year, but ask any more and he'd shut up again.

　　So Tver just shook his head and said goodbye to him, and to this school.